What’s the most important job that you can think of? Thanks to my skills in the clairvoyant arts I know there’s a decent chance that a doctor is what just popped into your head. Did you know that there are almost 5 nurses per doctor at hospitals across America though? Behind every great doctor, there are about 5 great nurses doing their job to keep us healthy and alive. Like physicians, nurses have to choose what they want to specialize in and who they want to help. So as important as the job is, monotony can certainly start to creep in. That is, unless you choose the route of today’s guest and become a float nurse. Sefora has the opportunity to help anyone and everyone in the hospital, and has one of the most diverse jobs medicine has to offer.
Turtle Biologist (with Doug Rice)
Michelangelo. Leonardo. Raphael. Donatello. What do these names have in common? They’re the four most famous turtles of all time. There’s a lot more to being a turtle than being a famous never-aging-teenager ninja though. Most turtles prefer a more simple life. Some turtles like to swim in the sea. Some turtles are really small and like to live in bogs, like little turtle gnomes. Today’s guest will help us learn about the wonderful and diverse turtle landscape, and also give us a peek at what the life of a field biologist is like.
Standardized Patient (with Errol McLendon)
Most things in life we don’t want standardized. Skin color, personal opinions, sexual preferences, our landscape and geography, variety is the spice of life. There are a few things though that definitely need to be standardized, and probably not many higher up on the list than what a physician is going to do when they give you a prostate exam or how they are going to act if you suddenly pass out while in the room with them. Physicians, like professional sports referees, are a great group of people to have standardized. We definitely don’t want one doctor seeing a foul, and another doctor saying to play on. It could quite literally be a matter of life and death. Today’s guest is a standardized patient. Standardized patients act out various scenarios with physicians and nurses in medical school to make sure they get it right when they’re out in the real world.
Clothing Brand Owner (with Jim Snediker)
Clothes, can’t live without em’. They keep us warm, hide our bodies from the unsuspecting public, and make our pets look really ridiculous. Since we all need to wear them, that means that lots of people need to make them too. What kind of an undertaking is that though? If you want to start a jewelry company you can buy some jewels and stick em’ in some precious metals, next step profit. If you want to start a clothing company you buy some cotton and…then…next step profit? Luckily we have Jim Snediker, Co-owner of Stock Manufacturing Co., to explain all them steps of starting a clothing company to us.
NASA Engineer (with Mike Cooney)
What did you want to be when you were a kid? I would be willing to stake my life on the fact that at least 90% of kids at some point in their childhood would all say the same thing, and it’s not Fire Truck Driver. I am of course referring to being an astronaut. Is there anything more great than space? Anything more captivating and awe inspiring? Today’s guest himself is an aspiring astronaut, but for now he has to settle with just being a particle physics trained electrical engineer with a PhD working on some of the most complex problems that mankind ever has at Langley Research Center for NASA. If Astronauts are going to get to space andsurvive there, they have to rely on a lot of smart people like Michael. Time to learn about the people that have helped inspired the imaginations of every child ever.
Assistive Technology Consultant (with Brian Friedlander)
Not everyone is created the same, and that is a great thing. We live in a world with boundless diversity that is truly beautiful. However, with some diversity there comes challenges. Those with special needs and disabilities can have a tough road in life as society often doesn’t cater to their needs. Luckily we have wonderful people, like today’s guest, that dedicate their lives to helping those who are created differently, but are absolutely equal to the rest of us.
Internet / Cable Technician (with Frank Bartlett)
There are some technologies that are indispensible once discovered. Like a combination of a weed and a redwood, these technologies grow their roots so fast and so deep, that in just a short time removing them would undo the entire foundation of civilization. For me the big three would be farming, electricity, and the Internet. One allowed civilizations to exist, one allowed them to thrive, and the last allowed the whole world to connect into one big civilization…and perhaps more importantly it allowed you to read this sentence and listen to this podcast. Time to figure out what allows us to have the internet and enjoy life as we know it today.
Experimental Test Pilot (with Shawn Disarufino)
There’s so much that goes on behinds the scenes in the world. So many people that make it so we can just live our day to day lives without much interruption. One such major role is that of product tester. Nothing makes it into our world without somebody messing around with it out first. Did you put some oatmeal in the microwave this morning? Best believe that microwave was tested…and probably the oatmeal too. Some product testers take on much more bold jobs than oatmeal, and today’s guest is one of them. Shawn is an experimental test pilot. Planes and helicopters need testing just like anything else, and Shawn is the man to do it.
Book Editor (with Wendy McClure)
Most of us like to think that we’re pretty self sufficient, but the reality is that we need a lot of help from people around us to enable our success. Support roles are invaluable at keeping the world spinning round and keeping quality products at our fingertips. Perhaps no one knows this more than a book editor. For one, they help writers sound good. They make sure there is balance and consistency throughout a novel, and give it an overall sense of polish it would not otherwise have. The more unknown side of book editing though is to read through countless potential books and decide which are going to make the cut, which are worth our time and money. Today’s guest tells us all about the rewards, challenges and pressures of deciding what we get to read, and how we get to read it.
Half Hour Intern (with Blake Fletcher)
Well, here we are. 100 episodes in. I debated for a long time on what topic to tackle for the 100th episode. Then I remembered, the most common question I get is why/how I started the show. So here it is. An interview with me as the subject, questions written in by listeners, hosted by my lovely wife, Asta. Thank you all for your support. It means everything to me.
Wine Maker (with Sterling Kragten)
Any fan of Half Hour Intern knows we love our adult drinks around here. Social lubricating, tension easing, great tasting drinks; what’s not to love? I’m typically a beer and wine man myself, and as such I’ve already done a couple of interviews with people that get to drink wine for a living (I still can’t believe jobs like that exist!), but today we finally speak to one of the wonderful people behind the juice. Get ready for a lesson in the delicate balance of art and chemistry.
Prosthetist (with Kevin Carroll)
There are very few things that can happen to you that will forever change your life; very few events that change the way that you think about and interact with the world. I think that it’s safe to say that losing a limb would fall into this category. Up until modern times losing a limb would’ve very likely also meant death. Thanks to people like today’s amazing guest, losing a limb is no longer a death sentence, and they are working hard to make it less and less of a life changing event. Whether you are veteran that lost a leg, a dolphin that lost it’s tail, or a turtle that lost a fin, today’s guest is here to help.
Middle School Music Teacher (with Tim Cassell)
Music is the freakin’ best. They say that you can’t stay upset or depressed if you put a smile on your face. I say you can’t stay upset or depressed if you just put on some music. Music is like a shot of pure serotonin that bypasses your brain and hits your right in the soul. In order to have this wonderful drug we have to have people that make music, and in order to have that we need to have those that teach and inspire. Today’s guest is a Jr. High school band director that inspires kids to connect with music and create it for themselves.
Ayurvedic Practitioner (with Jackie Christensen)
Is technology always a good thing? I don’t just mean electronic gadgetry; I mean any form of scientific advancement. This past century has been such an interesting one where we’ve come SO far with science and medicine, only to realize that moving forward is not always progress. We can grow more crops than ever thanks to pesticides and genetically modified seeds, only to realize that our food doesn’t carry the same nutritional value, and our fruits and vegetables don’t look and taste the same as they once did. We can double the size of our pigs so that we can have bacon on just about everything, but the super-sized pigs are so fragile that they can’t even go outdoors or they’ll die from disease or infection. We have a plethora of antibiotics to kill off pathogens, and we now have a growing list of antibiotic resistant bacteria. Perhaps it is due to this that more than ever people are skeptical of the ‘better by science’ approach and are trying old school methods for health and well being. One of the more popular and interesting approaches is Ayurveda. The ancient Indian science/study/philosophy of health and well being is REALLY old school, but as you’ll hear, many of it’s ideas and principles seem to be popping up all over lately.
House Cleaner (with Two Girls One Mop)
I want you to think for a moment about the top 5 things that you hate doing. My made up survey says that the top answer on that list would be cleaning. Ugh. I don’t even like writing the word! You know something is no good when everyone can easily do it, and yet TONS of individuals pay other people to do it for them. Today we hear finally hear about the not so bad side of cleaning…and the weird side; it’s really a good, bad, ugly sort of situation. We’ll learn about what it’s like to be on the other side of the mop, getting paid for it.
Sportscaster (with Scott Lynn)
Is there a better unifier of people than sports? For that matter, is there a better divider of people than sports? What a unique thing to completely bring groups of strangers together out of a shared love for their team, and tear others apart out of their geographical patronage. That sure is some intense emotion that sports stirs up! I, for one, love sports and its unadulterated expression of hard work and teamwork ultimately paying off. I also just love being able to watch people who are the best at their craft do their thing. Seeing Steph Curry hit three after three really is a beautiful thing. Today’s guest, Scott Lynn, has spent his life watching and commenting on sports. As you would imagine, he feels like a very blessed man, and has a lot to say about a life spent with the greats.
Experimental Architect (with Dave Irwin)
This episode is a slight departure from the usual format. In it I interview a very intelligent, very ambitious friend of mine, Dave Irwin. Dave is going to be leaving in May to live on a glacier in Greenland where he will test out a product that he designed to replace the typical home foundation in flood prone areas. He’s trying to change the world and help millions of people, and during the interview he’ll tell us all about how and why.
Kid's Nutrition Expert (with Sanjay Raja)
Diet. It’s all around us. An ever-present member of our lives. Whether we want to lose weight, gain weight, get more energy, or have more focus, tweaking the diet is always the first and best place to start. For most of us, this is something that we started to do as adults. I, for one, am pretty focused on my diet, but it’s not something I gave even a second thought to until about 5 years ago. Prior to that it was fast food and mac and cheese if that’s what I was in the mood for. Today’s guest, Sanjay Raja, argues that that shift in focus needs to happen earlier, as early as baby food. Let’s find out why and get some tips for raising a healthier generation.
Esalen Massage Therapist
Human touch. Is there anything better? Anything that connects us more to other people? Anything that connects us more to ourselves? When was the last time that you were really in the moment, not thinking about anything else? Odds are human touch was involved in some way. Cuddling, hugging, sex, massage, even bumbling around as a teenager, they all have a way of clearing the noise and bringing you into your skin. Well, a couple of weeks ago we talked about cuddling, so onto the merits of massage! Today’s guest, Kelly Spellman, is a practitioner of the very specialized Esalen massage. Almost more of a philosophy behind the massage than a set standardized way to practice; Esalen focuses on a holistic, whole body and spirit, approach to massage. Sound pretty avant-garde. Sounds pretty awesome!
Mastectomy Tattoo Artist (with Amy Black)
The human body does so much for us and asks for so little in return. It’s like the big, silent buddy to our soul. All we gotta do is feed it and give it sleep, and it’ll do pretty much anything we ask of it. It makes sense then that some people decide to give their big, silent buddy a gift. A work of art. A tattoo. Today’s guest, Amy Black, helps people give this gift. She also is an amazing human being who gives a much larger gift to breast cancer survivors. Through her post-mastectomy tattoos, she helps women (and men) look in the mirror again. She helps bring their lives back to a sense of normalcy, and helps those who need feel a sense of closure.